Are You a Magpie, always looking for the next shiny object, the male Magpie is always on the look for the next shiny object to entice a mate with the number of shiny objects.

Many entrepreneurs feel that the more they can learn or listen to the newest webinar, buy the newest book, listen to the newest podcast, spend untold dollars on anything or everything from the next guru they hear about.

Everyone feels inadequate at some point, whether newbie or seasoned. No one can live their life in their comfort zone, especially when starting out.

Most people have heard of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” by Jack Canfield. He received one-hundred and forty-four rejections of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” before finally being published.

How do you think he felt? Maybe inadequate? Was his idea a good one or a bad one? Was he chasing shiny objects? No he kept moving forward.

When is it time to walk the walk?

How many books do you need to read? How may programs do you need to buy? How many gurus do you need to listen to before you pull up your adult pants and get started doing?

If you’re afraid of failure, guess what. If you take personal responsibility for the outcome of your actions, you can learn more by failing than you can by success.

Failure is part of life. Do you think Thomas Edison was successful with every invention on the first try? No, but he did learn what didn’t work. The same goes for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and businesses. Each one must find what works for them.

There is, no one size fits all, if there were, every business would be the same to some degree.

You are an individual, you learn at a pace and mode that may be different from the next person. What you need to learn is what works for you and what makes you different from others.

There are myriad businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers to choose from. What makes you different from the crowd, why should someone trust you with their project? This is what you need to learn about yourself and exploit your differences to build a trusting environment with your clients. Clients will not work with someone they don’t trust or have some form of relationship with.

Human beings have strengths and weaknesses. The entrepreneur’s job is to identify them and use them to their advantage.

Stop reading and spending your cash on the next shiny object and start doing the work needed to become a success, whatever that means for you. Realize that what you consider success may not be what someone else considers success. Only compare yourself to you, never someone else.

Being retired and living on a fixed income I don’t have the funds for other than DIY learning. One can read all the books in the world and practice but not learn the nuances of writing for readers, according to Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Easy reading is damn hard writing”. I am willing to put in the time to learn but some feedback in a course would be immense help in furthering my passion for the written word and possibly helping others in their writing journey, as I believe in paying it forward and do not believe that age should be a factor in one’s desire to be a writer.

I write reviews, blog, and answer any questions about freelancing or writing that I can and resource for what I don’t know all in an effort to pay it forward.

I like editing and reading. I would love to be a better writer, suffer from the dreaded inner critic, and build confidence in what I write with the goal on capturing the reader’s attention for a blog post, article, or daring to dream of the possibility of writing a story someday.

The real question is “Why do I Want to Write?”

For me, it is not a question of why, it is more that fact that I need to write for my own sanity. Something special calms the inner beast when the creative muse visits and allows me to exercise the mind and the creative juices deep within the recesses of the soul. When I am out driving, putting out the trash, lying in bed, or just about anywhere I am, thoughts of lines or plots just seem to come out of nowhere. When I am out running errands or just out with my wife, I notice people, places, and things that may be something to focus on for a story or poem.

I feel the need to write just as we need to breathe to live. Writing is life, life is writing; they cannot be separated. When I am not writing, I get depressed. There something about the solitude of being at one with nothing but language and how to use it to elicit emotions and thoughts by how the words are used that the reader can relate to and experience from the words on a page as they read the story created by the author.

To be able to write something that is like a child in a way, and share the joy, sorrow, place and time of the story. To give the reader an escape from their life for a few minutes or hours, where they are transported via the magic carpet of words on a page is what I as a writer hope happens.

The poems I write are a slice of life as I see it through creative eyes. I wrote a poem about a specific thing, yet readers saw different concepts of what the poem was about for them. I feel I did my job. They each got something out of it as their life experiences led them to an emotion. That is what a poem should do as far as I am concerned. To put into words life experiences and have the reader relate in some way that makes them feel something. The same goes for prose.

It is by writing that the authors fulfill some inner sense of themselves. At least for me, I find a sense of calmness that nothing else brings quite the same feeling. When I am writing, the rest of the world disappears and a unique place and time enters in its place. It is this strange sense of calmness that rejuvenates the inner grounding of the soul. I have literally spent hours editing, reading or writing without any sense of time passing.

There are stories to entertain, cause discussions, escape the pressures of real life, and more that comes from reading the works of authors. In the fast-paced world we live in, there is nothing better than to take some time to read a good book. Being a voracious reader myself, I may be slightly biased.

I write, therefore I am a writer. I had a short story published in a local weekly the “Osborne Joy” in Osborne, Kansas. Does this make me a writer?

If you have read to this point, I appreciate your time and hope my writing has engaged you.

In the past, free meant no cost to you, if you are like me and remember when free meant free, you have found recently that free does not mean free anymore as it did in the past.

Numerous offers come my way almost daily in emails, and social media from individuals offering a free PDF, free book, and free modules of courses.

When checking these offers out, to obtain the offer you must pay shipping and handling, registering for a subscription, or a product upsale by the person making the offer that you must complete to get the free item from them. There is nothing free if there is any cost associated with what is supposed to be a free item.

I’ve received the same supposedly free offer for a book from more than one person offering a free book from the author. If the book is free, why must the book be available only if the person requesting the book is willing to pay a shipping and postage fee for a copy of the free book? I don’t see anything free in an offer like this, do you?

I’ve had offers for programs, CDs, books, and more in emails from numerous people. I do not jump and pay money just because I might want the free offer. I do not see anything free if there are associated costs for me to receive any so-called free item.

Free used as an adjective by definition means, “costing nothing”. As consumers, are we now accepting that the word “free” no longer has the same definition or meaning found in dictionaries? Are we willing to allow someone to use words as they wish and no longer follow the lexicon of English?

Charging any fee associated with an offer of a free item by the definition of free, is a misrepresentation of the offer. Why would anyone trust the person making the offer, or anything he or she says, or represents? I for one am tired of free offers that require any payment associated with the offer for me to receive a free item.

Some clients equate freelance writers with web designers wanting various languages such as Perl, Drupal, Joomla, building shopping carts, and more, this is programming, not freelance writing.

Other clients may request knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Adobe Pro, Quark, CRM, and CMS software, to name a few.

Newcomers to freelance writing will find it hard to acquire clients if they are not up to date on the various software programs listed above, and the software clients may be using in their business.

Freelance writers must have a working knowledge of copyright infringement, plagiarism, and the latest FTC rules if they work in the United States.

The quote below posted with permission from Tim McGuinness during a discussion about the question, “Can you reliably make a living freelance writing?”

”As a business that hires writers, you all need to understand the nature of the business models that now exist. When content became universal, it also lowered its value – not to me, but to the ultimate publishers of that content. In retail for example, the norm is to scrape content from other websites – retailers who consume vast amounts of content are not willing to pay much for it. If they can get duplicated content put up for $1 they will, until they get in trouble. What you all also need to understand it that a writer is just a part of a process – content production requires coordination, production management, quality assurance, and delivery mechanisms. These are all fixed costs, thus the writer makes less. There are still boutique projects out there, but increasingly, writing is a commodity job. You make as much as you produce. Sorry for the bad news, but this is the reality of the job now.” ~ Tim McGuinness, Ph.D.

Second, some clients specify work for writers in India, Philippines, and other non-native English countries around the world if you attempt to find jobs on the various job boards, which are content mills and can hurt reputations.

Competing against non-native English countries accepting low wages for assignments, do not quit your day job until you can continue living the lifestyle you are currently living.

It could take decades for you to become an overnight success as a newcomer to freelance writing and establishing a reputation as a quality writer.

Established writers have spent years building their reputation, many while working a day job and writing part-time until their writing could pay for their lifestyle. Established writers have credentials newcomers do not have, and must build by writing.

Building a portfolio of work takes time, hard work, education, writing, and patience.

Call me harsh, pessimistic, or overly critical, I prefer realist learning daily, while working on my PhD from the University of Hard Knocks.

Freelance writers must commit themselves to writing daily, learning new software, applying the rules of perfect grammar and punctuation in their writing to establish themselves as quality writers.

Freelance writers are entrepreneurs who must embody honesty, integrity, and quality along with transparency and authenticity in all they do.

A new form of marketing is building a business platform, networking, and building a following.

Writing is a business! One must spend the time and energy required to grow it into a successful enterprise. There are no short cuts if writers desire acceptance as serious writers of quality.

I started mine because I wanted to help entrepreneurs, writers, and freelancers. I started out knowing little about running a business, with little money to put into the business, and working on obtaining my PhD at The University of Hard Knocks.

I started mine because I wanted to help entrepreneurs, writers, and freelancers from starting out knowing little about running a business with little money to put into the business, and learning through the University of Hard Knocks.

It is my desire to help readers of this blog, and highlight my writing in case someone would hire me for writing, editing or reviewing.

Being a real person, posts on this blog may be scheduled for early in the day, they are written by one person, never curated, no PLR (Private Label Rights), no MRR (Master Resale Rights), only 100 percent original writing.

It is my desire that this blog starts conversations, start thinking about what blogs should offer, and may engage readers with the content. Perhaps hired for one or more of my services by a blog visitor, ask a question about the services or about writing, marketing or social media as I am a believer in paying it forward.

Why did you start a blog?

There are many reasons to start a blog.

Blog about books in progress

Blog about books you have read

Host virtual book tours

Post book reviews

Blog about public figures’ tours, appearances, entertainment … etc.

Blog about your products, new product release date, or your services

Blog about your books with links where to purchase them

Blog about writing to help new writers

Blog about SEO, Marketing, Social Media, Networking … etc.

A blog is about what you choose as your subject. A blog should engage, establish relationships, engage readers, help your readers, and offer information that educates the reader about your product or service, about the subject you choose as the base of your blog.

The blog headline should inform the reader what to expect to find on your blog. It must be relevant to searches performed by searchers on the Internet.

The University of Hard Knocks teaches many lessons if one is open to learning.

At this stage of life, I have come to realize I just do not have the money needed to allow me to reach some of the goals I have set for myself. Therefore, I have made the decision to continue my writing journey while putting my services on the back burner; since I am not willing to create debt, I cannot afford to see what might happen, if anything does. It has not yet.

If I can help someone with my knowledge so their copy is the best it can be, I am more than happy to do so. There is no free lunch though, my services as editor writer will be available after proving how I might help a manuscript, or web copy.

I have always been inexpensive. For me, it is not about the money, but in helping someone to improve copy where needed.

I have edited manuscripts, worked as a copyeditor for Celebrity Café, written SEO web copy, ghostwritten articles, edited and written PR (Press Release).

Since my money is tight, DIY is the way I have been learning the intricacies of PR, marketing, book promotion, and freelancing from startup. The posts on this blog are about some of the lessons learned.

The posts are about being a freelancer, and running a business with limited funds. Unfortunately, my funds are limited to the point that I must apply my energy and time to the pursuit of my own writing.

I have writing projects that need my attention:

A book about freelancing

A book of quotes for writers

A book of resources for writers

A Sci-Fi with a hint of paranormal

My four blogs

Other subjects floating in my head

Getting back to free verse

This post is neither a rant nor sour grapes about my life as you might think; it is a reality check by the person that is Robert Medak Freelance Writer, who tries to live a life of honesty, integrity, and a unique moral code, unique to me.

I try to live a life that has meaning for me, for I am the person that sees his reflection in the mirror every morning, faced with one provocative question, “Am I satisfied that I did my best the day before?”

Each day is a day to pay it forward and to help people rather than chase the “almighty buck.”

Can I improve my writing with each piece I write?

When I began writing, I would compare myself to other writers. That was a huge mistake on my part. I am an individual, and my writing will never be like someone else. That does however; mean that I should not strive to improve every time I put my posterior anatomy in the chair.

I can only compare me to myself, and I can demand I improve daily as a writer and a person.

Therefore, I shall move my writing to the front burner and work on my WIPs (Works In Progress).

If you are searching for validation in your marketing system, your business model, and your business, you will have to wait a long time.

There are people called guru or expert. Their main aim is to separate you from your money.

If you are like most people trying to start a business, or considering working online for some extra money, never, never spend more than you can afford after you pay all of your bills.

I have seen programs and opportunities from $29 to over $1,000 from people selling training or helping them with a book.

I would like to meet the average person who can afford hundreds of dollars with no guarantee of a return for the money spent.

You should be learning and working on your own, and what is right for you, and never spend more than you can afford.

Businesses spend revenue, and never go into debt to grow the business. No one can predict the economy, how much each individual’s budget can afford on other than bills.

It is not about searching for validation from someone, or seeking validation following a business model of someone else. Businesses need to be themselves and not worry about validation.

A business needs to stress customer satisfaction. Customers create businesses revenue, and create a successful business.

Forget validation, stress customer satisfaction, never spend more than you can truly afford by budgeting, this is how to run and grow a business.

Try it out and see if your business succeeds. When a business succeeds, that is validation that it is working, look always to the business and always be flexible and ready to change what is not working.

With the week beginning January 6 2014, the first full week of the New Year and probably starting a new workweek, it is time to begin anew as small business, entrepreneur, or author.

Time to begin re-evaluating what worked, and did not in 2013 for your business.

When was the last time you looked at your business plan?

When was the last time you looked at your marketing plan?

When was the last time you looked at you social media strategy?

When was the last time you re-evaluated your Internet platform?

In 2013, how often to you revisit the above. At a minimum, you should at least ever six-months. You must also be flexible to changes in the economy, social media, ROI, and any factors that may affect your business.

Has your reason for starting a business changed? What about your business outlook. As you move forward in 2014, still working with the same assumptions of 2013 is not going to help your business grow.

A business like an automobile has to be driven, in order to get results.” — B.C. Forbes

Without the latest results, how can you drive your business forward?

Have you ever set up a business plan for your business?

There is enormous amount of consideration, information, and strategies needed before beginning any business if it is to succeed. Failure in the beginning, your business is doomed to failure.

It is all about knowing how your business is functioning that explains to the business owner what needs tweaking to move forward. If you have no results, or some way of looking at them and being able to adjust, how are you going to grow the business?

Step One: Startup, whether you are considering a full time, or part-time business, you must answer the question: Why do you want to start a business?

If you answer for money, you’d better think again about starting a business. There is no way to make money overnight, or even in the first few months of running a business.

It takes money to make money. The business income goes back into the business to help it grow into a successful business, not in your pocket.

Running a business is not a hobby; it is hard work, and possibly long hours, not to mention sacrifice. Sacrifice in the fact the running a business means that you have to spend time working on and in your business, so what are you willing to give up in building your business?

Answer the question of why you what to start a business truthfully. Is it because you feel that you have a better service or product than another company, are you passionate about something you think you can turn into a business, what makes you special over someone else. This is what it takes because you are competing against other and possible more established companies.

What are you going to call your business, do you need licenses, what about business liability insurance, is you running your business out of your home, or brick and mortar storefront, what about a DBA, LLC, S Corporation, C Corporation, which is right for your business.

How will you pay for this?

The above is a business plan. A business plan is all about the business along with the goals of the business.

Step Two: Marketing, an extension of the business is how you plan on marketing and branding your business.

What is your plan, do you have a plan to market your business. What marketing channels are you planning to use in marketing your business?

There are many ways to market a business. What is your plan to track ROI as to what channel works best? How will you finance your marketing?

All businesses need a marketing plan to get in front of the public for traffic to the business either Internet, walk-in, or some other method to have clientele.

Without clientele, you have no business, only a money-draining hobby, and you become a wana-preneur, not an entrepreneur.

Get your ducks in a row before you think about starting up a business.